Campaign 2018: Lois Tarkanian comes to son’s defense in ad

Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian is defending her son — Republican congressional candidate Danny Tarkanian — against what she calls “lies” from his opponent.

In a new television ad, Lois Tarkanian, who’s a lifelong Democrat, says she didn’t “expect” such campaign tactics from Susie Lee, her son’s Democratic opponent.

“Other people use these lies, other people lost in court; and they don’t care because you tell this lie over and over and over again and people will believe it,” Tarkanian says directly to the camera. “And I don’t think people realize what it does to the rest of the family. Stop the lies.”

Tarkanian and Lee, who are vying for an open seat in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District, have lobbed insults at each other for months. Lee and her supporters have seized on claims that Tarkanian was involved in setting up telemarketing scams — an accusation he’s refuted, saying he only served as a registered agent, and won a court case over.

“For the Nevadans who have been taken advantage of or directly harmed by his behavior, Danny Tarkanian’s long record of scandals and scams is all too real,” said Lee’s campaign manager Brandon Cox. “This is just another attempt by Tarkanian to pull the ultimate scam on voters by trying to erase his deceitful record.”

Tarkanian and his supporters have sought to paint Lee as an-out-touch elite liberal.

Facebook ad buys

Facebook has made it even easier to look up ad spending on its platform with a new reporting tool.

The biggest spending in Nevada races, nearly $1 million since May, has come from a group led by NV Energy that opposes the Energy Choice Initiative ballot question. Here’s what select candidates and campaigns have spent on ads between May and Oct. 20:

Governor

Adam Laxalt (Laxalt for Nevada): 76 ads, $27,965

Steve Sisolak (Friends for Steve Sisolak and four other entries): 162 ads, $50,659

The Truth about Adam Laxalt (third party, anti-Laxalt): 3 ads, $1,726

Putting Nevada First (third party, anti-Laxalt): 1,856 ads, $210,522

Building a Stronger Nevada (third party, pro-Laxalt): 104 ads, $135,598

Senate

Dean Heller (Heller for Senate): 411 ads, $153,451

Jacky Rosen (Rosen for Nevada): 1,432 ads, $356,838

Dishonest Dean Heller (third party, anti-Heller): 552 ads, $685,788

Ballot Questions

Question 1 (crime victims’ rights)

Marsy’s Law for Nevada: 72 ads, $354,840

Question 3 (Energy Choice Initiative)

Yes on 3, the Energy Choice Initiative (Nevadans for Affordable Clean Energy Choices): 161 ads, $661,829

No on 3: The Coalitions to Defeat Question 3: 905 ads, $916,564

Question 6 (Renewable energy initiative)

YES on 6: Clean Energy for NV (Nevadans for a Clean Energy Future): 83 ads, $140,205

Overall, Facebook reports more than $256 million spent on nearly 1.7 million ads from May through Oct. 20.

Pence to rally for Heller, Laxalt

Vice President Mike Pence will be in Carson this weekend to rally voters for Republican Sen. Dean Heller and Attorney General Adam Laxalt.

The rally will follow the Nevada Day parade and other activities commemorating Nevada’s admission to statehood in 1864.

Heller is in a tight re-election battle against Democratic Rep. Jacky Rosen and is the only GOP senator seeking re-election in a state Democrat Hillary Clinton carried in 2016.

Laxalt is in a tight race for governor against Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak.

Pence’s visit follows a rally that President Donald Trump held in Elko last weekend.

Republicans Sens. Lindsey Graham and Cory Gardner will stop in Henderson on Friday to campaign for Heller. The event begins 1 p.m. Friday at 2925 North Green Valley Parkway, Suite B, in Henderson. Tickets are available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gotv-rally-w-senators-lindsey-graham-cory-gardner-and-dean-heller-tickets-51740717880.

News and Notes

■ Sisolak was endorsed by former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords.

■ The Energy Choice Initiative, or Question 3 on the November ballot, was endorsed by the Libertarian Party of Nevada, whose leaders said breaking up the NV Energy monopoly would provide consumers with better choices.

■ There will be a celebration of life for Dennis Hof at 2 p.m. Nov. 3 at the Casino Fandango in Carson City. Hof, a brothel owner and Republican candidate for Assembly District 36, died last week in his sleep following a birthday party and campaign event in Pahrump. His cause of death has not been released.

Staff writer Bill Dentzer and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Ramona Giwargis at rgiwargis@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4538. Follow @RamonaGiwargis on Twitter.